Grant Deadlines

eSchool News staff and wire service reports

November 1st, 2000

November

**NEW THIS MONTH**

Bright Ideas Grants

EnergyUnited’s Bright Ideas grant program, now in its seventh year, supports innovative educational projects not covered by traditional school funding with grants of up to $2,000. Purchases of computers or other digital equipment are eligible for grants, if they are tied directly to specific projects. In recent years, EnergyUnited has funded the purchase of a computer projector and the purchase of a digital camera for a student newspaper. Educators in any K-12 public school within EnergyUnited’s North Carolina service area are eligible.

Only elementary school science teachers are eligible for this National Science Teachers Association award. The winner must demonstrate exemplary environmental or geological earth science teaching practices in one or more of the following areas: innovative design and use of hands-on earth science materials; creative design and implementation of earth science lesson plans/curriculum; or fostering student, school, and school-community instructional programs in elementary earth science. Applicants should emphasize how their teaching helps meet national science education standards. The winner will receive a desktop or laptop computer system (worth up to $3,500), $2,500 for the purchase of earth science materials and/or equipment for his or her school, an all-expenses-paid trip to NSTA’s annual conference, and an all-expenses-paid trip to the Nevada Mining Association’s Minerals Education Workshop for teachers. Note: Numerous other NSTA awards and scholarships are available; to see the entire range, visit the organization’s web site.

RadioShack is honoring outstanding mathematics, science, and technology high school teachers with cash awards and Compaq computers. Criteria for judging winners include infusing innovative teaching methods (such as technology) and inspiring students to higher achievement. Applicants should explain how they will use the funds and computer to add to their pedagogical skills. The company will make 100 awards in the “experienced” categorythree years or more of teachingconsisting of $3,000 cash and a Compaq computer. This year, for the first time, 10 additional winners will be recognized in the “beginning” categoryat least one year of experience but less than four yearswith cash awards of $1,000 and a Compaq computer.

The newly formed Verizon Foundation (the charitable arm of Verizon Corp., which was created by the merger of GTE and Bell Atlantic) has started reviewing proposals for projects in numerous areas, including several with direct K-12 applications: literacy, digital divide, math/science education, and helping people with disabilities obtain job-relevant skills. Applications can be submitted immediately and will be considered as they arrive. Note that the foundation accepts only electronic proposals submitted through its web site.

This grant program by FamilyPC magazine supports teachers in K-12 public or private schools in the United States who have a unique idea for integrating technology into their curriculum. Each applicantthere were five winners last yearcan apply for up to $2,500. Projects that can be replicated in other schools are preferred. Project proposals may still be in the “idea” stage, as long as your application explains how the grant will enable you to initiate your project. Grants may be used for computer-related equipment, ancillary products that help accomplish the goals of the project, or salaries for personnel involved in the project. One winner last year was a project in which middle school students filmed each other performing physical activities and used computers to analyze movement, caloric use, and related issues.

These grants from Proxima Corp. are intended to measure and document the effectiveness of multimedia projection use in the classroom. The program will reward outstanding educators from four categoriesK-8, 9-12, community college, and universitywith $1,000 in cash, plus a Proxima multimedia projector. For consideration, entrants must submit a proposal to Proxima that details a measurable plan to use a multimedia projector in the classroom to increase learning or behavioral results. The four category winners will be announced Dec. 15.

The Coca-Cola Foundation has three focuses for its philanthropic giving, one of which is support of innovative classroom teaching and learning in K-12 schools. In total, the foundation gave nearly $11.5 million in 1999 and $12.5 million in 1998. The foundation looks especially favorably upon programs that are small and well-targetede.g., helping elementary and secondary students with a particular issue, such as civil rights or the environment. Funds also can be applied toward tuition for training that will result in new instructional techniques in the classroom. Public and private school educators serving children of all ages may apply for these grants. Although the monetary size of grants varies considerably, a quick review of successful applicants from the past two years indicates that $5,000 to $25,000 is typical.

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics will award two grants of up to $2,000 each to math teachers who are seeking to improve their professional competence. Proposals can include requests for funds to take professional development courses or to work on projects to improve a mathematics curriculum. Equipment purchases are acceptable only if they directly support the proposed plan. There are two grant programsone for teachers in grades K-6 (in honor of Ernest Duncan) and one for teachers in grades 7-12 (in honor of Mary Doliciani). Be sure you apply for the proper one. In each case, the grant is open to all public and private school math teachers with three or more years of experience in teaching a particular grade level. A similar program, titled the Leonard Pappas Incentive Grant, will make two $2,000 awards to support the development of math enrichment materials or lessons detailing an innovative teaching unit; computer programs and videotapes are specifically cited in the grant announcement as eligible. For any of these grants, applicants must submit two-page typed proposals describing the project, its cost, and how it will lead to personal and professional growth that will enhance student learning.

This Department of Education program has a very specific purpose that substantially limits eligibility of applicants. It is open only to local educational agencies and consortia of such agencies to support magnet schools that are part of approved desegregation plans. These grants will support programs that enhance the ability of magnet schools to attract and retain minority students, and magnet schools using technology as a draw have been successful applicants in the past. Grant recipients will receive substantial awards$200,000 to $3 million per year for up to three yearsfrom this program that is budgeted for FY 2001 at $92 million. As many as 60 awards will be made.

This program was administered by the GTE Foundation until GTE and Bell Atlantic merged to become Verizon earlier this year. It’s now administered by the Verizon Foundation, though little else has changed. The program encourages innovative math and science teaching by providing 140 outstanding secondary school educators with funds for professional development activities and hands-on classroom projects. Teams of full-time science and math teachers in grades seven through 12 (grade six, if from a middle or junior high school) in public and private U.S. schools may apply. Each team must consist of one science teacher and one math teacher from the same school. Applicants must propose a school enrichment project that integrates math and science into classroom activities and uses technology in an innovative way. Each winning team shares a $15,000 grant$8,000 to implement the project and $3,500 for professional development activities for each team member.

The 2001 Toyota TAPESTRY program, sponsored by Toyota Motor Sales and administered by the National Science Teachers Association, will award 50 grants of up to $10,000 each to K-12 science teachers. Interested teachers should propose innovative science projects that can be implemented in their school or district during a one-year period. Winning projects must demonstrate creativity, involve risk-taking, possess a visionary quality, and model a novel way of presenting science. Successful grant-winning projects, such as a mobile observatory to study light pollution and an interactive paleontology lab, often include the use of technology.